Lady Cougars earn first AMC victory
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Columbia, Mo. – The Columbia Lady Cougar basketball team picked up its first victory in American Midwest Conference regular season play tonight, defeating the Williams Baptist (Ark.) College Eagles 76-67. The victory pushes Columbia’s overall mark to 13-1and its league record to 1-0. The loss drops the Eagles to 7-7 overall and 0-1 in conference action. The Lady Cougars are ranked No. 9 in the NAIA Top 25 Poll.
The Eagles did a good job of staying with the Lady Cougars for much of the first half. The teams were tied at 25 in the closing minutes of the first frame when Columbia put together a 14-2 run to lead 39-27 at the intermission.
For the first 15 minutes of the second half, the Lady Cougars held onto their double-digit lead, not allowing the Eagles to get too close. However, Williams Baptist gave Columbia every ounce of fight they had, bringing the game to within six with less than two minutes remaining. The Lady Cougars sank their free-throw attempts down the stretch to clinch the victory.
The Eagles outrebounded Columbia 43-37 in the game.
Four Lady Cougars tallied double figures, led by Janita Session with 21 points. Veronica Smith added 16 points and eight rebounds and Denise Rosario and Whitney Widaman finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
The Lady Cougars return home on Saturday, January 9th to host Park (Mo.) University. The Pirates are in their first year with the AMC and are scheduled to tip-off against the Lady Cougars at 2 p.m. in the Arena of Southwell Complex.